B1 — 24. Divine Insanity
Rachel’s heartbeat quickened, and she licked her lips, anticipating the taste of their rage after she’d ruined their plans by surpassing their expectations. The glee of a challenging fight tingled from the tip of her ears to the end of her tail, causing the fluffy appendage to flick with excitement as she stepped through Conner’s golden gateway to another world.
She’d already tilted Relica, which was a delicious treat, and she knew that returning from this little competition would trigger the insecure woman something fierce. Relica had to believe she was in control; when she wasn’t, she became flustered and sloppy, which was why Relica would go to any length for power.
The Legendkin welcoming her into the arena was an entirely different breed, though; the man oozed confidence and showmanship. He had the physique of a Greek god and believed himself invincible. Rachel was more than willing to put that to the test and use that pride against the man.
Leaving the stunned woman behind, Rachel’s foot touched the loose sand of the arena floor after stepping through the gateway. A wave of cheers made her ears fold backward as she spun in a slow circle, taking in the sight.
Oddly, most of the audience was blurred out or comprised of entities completely foreign to Rachel’s mind. Many were humanoid, but with unusual characteristics that her brain couldn’t fully process; it triggered her instincts and felt like a massive weight on her chest. Whoever or whatever these creatures were, her instincts screamed that she couldn’t defeat a single one.
A transparent bubble surrounded the arena in a dome, separating it from the outside. Dark smoke rose into the sky from beyond sight and was sucked into crimson portals, and star-like stones glistened in the smog before being snuffed out.
Rachel had no clue what to expect from the gem-encrusted, golden coliseum she’d been brought to; grapes, cups, and massive barrels of flowing liquid ran from the top of the structure into canals, but one area drew her attention: the VIP box, from where a familiar autumn-haired goddess with flower-dotted, flowing locks stood witness to the coming fight.
“Eostre?” Rachel whispered.
She expected to see Moongmor beside the woman; instead, there was a glorious, bronze-skinned god, his dark hair reaching his shoulders. Clothed in a rather revealing robe of maroon linen, he sat on the edge of the box, leaning against a pillar with a cup in his hand and a grin on his handsome face.
The golden portal that brought her here closed as Conner stepped through, his tan chest gleaming in the bright overhead sun, which, interestingly, had no adverse effect on her Lunar Pool. The moment it sealed, the god took a sip of his drink and was suddenly standing before her.
Rachel took a step back as the tall man raised his hands in the air and spun in a festive circle; red liquid spilled out of his cup, the wine transforming into grape-bearing vines. Conner walked forward, a grin on his face as he pounded his chest before mirroring the bronze-skinned god.
With a voice like thunder, the deity introduced them to the bizarre field of colors, shapes, sparkles, and humanoid figures; a sea of monsters and oddities Rachel had never imagined could exist surrounded them.
“My fellow lesser gods, demigods, tulpa, immortals, personifications, incarnations, elementals, angels, archons, devils, demons, and everything in between… I, Dionysus, master of games, welcome you to my passion project! I welcome you to one of, if not the first Legend’s Quest!”
More vines grew up around him as his seemingly endless cup spilled more wine, the grapes they grew taking all shapes and colors. Rachel gave a curious chuckle at his boisterous antics, unsure who Dionysus was, but figuring he had to be some Greek or Roman figure by his appearance.
She kept Eostre in her sight; from the woman’s sitting position, she seemed strained and in pain, causing Rachel to draw her own conclusions while observing the ‘lesser god’ introduce himself and the game he was hosting.
She could now see why Cerridwen had urged her to be quick to recover the fairy in order to take part in this trial. Without Maria, she’d be dead, and recovering Fiona had brought her into direct contact with Eostre. Although, she couldn’t have been prepared for the bucket of cold water that was poured on her head by the showy man as he continued.
“Welcome, my unruly fellows, to the Age of the Lesser Deities! No more are we confined by the dictations of those pesky Creation Deities and higher beings to stifle our fun. Haha! Select your champions, grant them your blessings, and watch the chaos unfold!”
He gestured to Conner as the man did a few flips, showing off to the noisy crowd, who were clicking, roaring, or shrinking in an unrecognizable frenzy of sound and motion.
“Conner, one of my most promising champions, has brought us a victim for your entertainment… Sung-Hyo or Rachel Park, how will you introduce yourself?”
Rachel tilted her head to the side, scanning the throng and the implications this had. Placing a hand on her hip, she smirked at the man that could crush her to atoms with a mere thought and laughed. “I prefer to let my victory in the ring announce who I am.”
“Ho-ho!” Dionysus shouted. “Our little hare sees herself as an incarnation of Nike herself! Haha. I love it!”
A wicked twist came to the man’s lips as he directed her to a pillar near the top of the stadium, and Rachel’s eyes widened as space shrunk before her, pulling her vision closer so she could witness a tortured figure, her breathing shallow.
“Unfortunately, my fine hare, Nike isn’t doing so well since the dimensional barriers separated the higher deities from this meshed multiverse. Haha!”
Rachel’s cheer turned reflective upon witnessing the cruel sight; she didn’t know who Nike was, but clearly, there was some kind of history between Dionysus and her. Her white braided hair was used to gag the angelic goddess, a blindfold covering her eyes, a golden sword fixed her crossed hands to the pillar she was fastened to.
“And who is Nike?” Rachel casually questioned, eliciting incredulous looks from the onlookers and Dionysus alike as she reached to the side to tear off a grape branch and pop one in her mouth. “Blah. Sour. Uh, I don’t know if I’m feeling it. I mean, the staff suck through her belly—is that wasted wine just… constantly falling over her necessary. And the vines… really?”
Dionysus rubbed his strong jaw as he squinted up at the naked woman, quivering a little from time to time with the thistles slowly ripping into her skin. “Interesting. Interesting. A critique, are you… You think I’m trying too hard? Do you really not know my half-sister Athena’s little dove—The Wings of Victory—the Greek Personification of Victory?”
“Ahhh. That makes sense. No, I’m not a big follower of Greek stuff.” Rachel hummed, throwing the crowd off as she tossed her grapes to the side and held a finger to her lips. “Back to the ‘art,’ though. Personally, it’s, eh-mmh-yeah… I think the ripped-off golden wings pinned to her sides with daggers is a bit much. Don’t you think? And it feels like the wreath of laurel leaves—a crown—uh, are you pulling from somewhere else, maybe?” she belittled.
Dionysus appeared beside the young woman, his thoughtful fingers tracing the side of the sword’s blade to the golden liquid mixing with the wine in its trail down her exposed figure; Rachel felt a tad skittish by the stalker-rapey vibes she was getting from him—his ‘sister’s dove’—but she couldn’t show weakness.
“I can see why you might think that, but you cannot deny the glorious imagery. Ichor… the ethereal fluid of gods, immortals, and personifications alike; it’s quite useful. Being a Personification of Victory in the 5th Dimension, and without my annoying half-sister’s protection, it was only natural that I take the bird for myself. Who doesn’t want victory close by?”
Conner crossed his arms and glanced around at several more pillars rising from the stands, showing other unimaginably powerful entities that the lesser god had added to his festive collection, with demons and devils roaring with glee from the stands.
“You’ve been busy! I see my support has bagged you quite a few trophies. I look forward to adding a certain hare to my own,” he mused, giving her a dark, appraising stare that Rachel returned.
“Funny you say that,” she said, placing a hand on her hip and feeling the intense bloodlust of the creatures observing the pre-match show. “I would be quite the catch, but I don’t typically keep trash trophies, so I can’t say you’d look well on my wall.”
“Oooh!” Dionysus raised his hand into the sky, where a gaming display emerged from an explosion of colors. “The hare has teeth… Good. What will your coach tell you, I wonder?”
Rachel’s ears arched, a tempting smirk finding its mark. “Careful. Karma always gets her pound of flesh.”
“Hahaha! Circe and Eostre were right; you are quite terrifying… for a mortal. What will you be like when that Seed within you starts to really sprout? Now, let the Opening Segment begin!”
He clapped, and the world slipped away; in the next instance, she was standing in the VIP box with Eostre, Conner in his own across the stadium. Dionysus took center stage, darkness overshadowing the arena for a single ray of light to illuminate him, as he monologued.
Eostre wore a frown while calmly watching the lesser god explain to the crowd how it was possible to make changes to the Legend’s Quest and ‘Greater Seeds’ within their followers, given the proper caution and methods. Everyone who joined his side in this conflict amongst the lesser gods and other 5th-dimensional entities stood to gain phenomenal power through joining his faction, as many already had, such as Circe.
Rachel had no clue what the difference between a 5th-dimensional personification, like Nike, and a 5th-dimensional lesser god, like Dionysus, was, but she didn’t get the instinctual caution from him in the same manner as Relica. Sure, he was vastly more powerful than the witch, but he wasn’t going to kill her because he couldn’t for some reason.
Her eyes narrowed upon noticing Eostre’s hands, waist, and feet tied to her seat by a golden thread; obviously, the autumn-haired Easter goddess was not here by choice. Eostre’s life did hang in the balance, and due to his showy nature, Dionysus had given her the luck of conversing with her.
Taking up a leaning position against the wall to view the lesser god, Nike, and Eostre, she gauged the flow of misfortune and felt sharp tugs pulling the strings of destiny further away from her as fate wound around her throat. Somehow, Dionysus was forcing Nike to pull things in his favor.
“Quite the predicament you’ve found yourself in,” Rachel whispered, showing the sober goddess a tight smile. “Was getting kidnapped by a psychopathic god your plan, or is this something you’re dumping on me to solve?”
Eostre breathed in a long breath before easing it out. “If… this was a part of the plan, I most certainly wasn’t made aware of it. Your perception of me is quite over-inflated due to your ignorance regarding the higher planes; I am not a lesser goddess or anything close to such potent prowess… I am what is called a tulpa.”
Recalling the title from the list Dionysus called out earlier, Rachel crossed her arms and scanned the coliseum, a small tilt coming to her mouth as she spotted a certain multi-colored bunny among the throng.
“Okay. Well, it’s good that I can finally get some straight answers, regardless of the terrible circumstances; at least you haven’t been staked,” she mumbled, studying a strange, blue four-armed djinn-like entity piked to one of the pillars.
“Until the insane Greek gets bored,” Eostre said with a sad chuckle. “To put things in perspective, as a tulpa, at my strongest, I’m at the bottom of the 4th-dimensional weight bracket; Moongmor is a powerful 3rd-dimensional companion of mine. You, heh… are actually the cause of my capture. Imagine that. Damn you, Cerridwen; I knew this was a terrible idea, but far from me to say no to a 6th-dimensional contender.”
Rachel pulled around her braid to play with the end, mind racing through the complex weave of information she was gaining through this dangerous gambit. Clearly, this was a contest to the death between Conner and her, yet he had all the cards stacked against her.
She could see why Relica had been so perturbed about her confidence. Yet, her chances weren’t as slim as it appeared; she just had to play the right angles.
“Don’t be so glum, Eostre,” Rachel mused, her ears tilting to the left as the thrill of an uphill battle tugged at her gut.
“If I’m getting what Dionysus is laying out in his recruitment speech, there is a solid barrier between the 5th-dimensional lesser god weight class and the 7th-dimensional Creation Deities, but the wall blocking the 6th, or your average ol’ god tier-level, is just thin enough to allow some interference… which is where my cauldron-loving nightmare visitor comes into play. Correct?”
Eostre’s jaw tightened as her gaze drifted to Nike. “It’s more complicated than that… but in essence, yes. We can’t peer into the future like we used to. When the barriers between dimensions thickened, it became harder to interfere between each one, which seems to multiply greatly with every rising dimensional weight class, I suppose you could call it.
“A flood of unnatural energy appears to have meshed my universe into many others, which became… well, what you’ve known all your life. Everything before a century or so ago, totally normal in your mind, is actually quite messy and tangled. Time wasn’t so linear until that point for us higher dimensional beings.”
She swallowed, turning her sight to the stands. “And right now, all of the 4th-dimensional weight class beings, as you put it, such as myself, are in perpetual fear of becoming like Nike… The 5th-dimensional heavyweights are fighting over the rights of the Greater Seed holders, trying to entreat them, while we cower on the sideli—”
She cut off as the muscular god appeared beside her, plucking grapes off his vine to pop them into his mouth. “Spilling secrets to your skinned hare of an art critique, Eostre?”
Rachel hummed, her provocative tone drawing his attention away from the frightened tulpa. “You know what bewilders me about you?”
Dionysus waved his hands to the crowd, an image of her appearing for all to see across the stadium. “By all means, enlighten the audience to my mystery!”
A vicious gleam lifted her illuminated eyes, with misfortune circling them. “Why would such a powerful ‘lesser god’ be so terrified of a little tulpa or need the help of the personification of victory herself to feed his confidence? Are, heh… you trying to compensate for something by stripping naked, tying up, and impaling so many women? Hmm. Did Big Sis Athena do something to you? What does the crowd think?”
The man’s lips fell as laughter came from the throng, and even Conner couldn’t help a smile from across the stadium. “I’d watch your tongue if I were you,” he snarled.
Rachel pushed herself away from the wall to stand up and face the 5th-dimensional god. “Make me.” His fingers tightened against the railing, causing fissures to run down its length. “Hmm? I’m waiting.”
Eostre’s feverish eyes snapped to Dionysus as he slowly rose to his feet and walked around her to place a hand on the tulpa’s shoulder, making her flinch. “The hubris. I could squeeze the juice out of her like a grape… Is that what you want?”
Ignoring the taunt, Rachel tilted her head to the side and grinned at the crowd. “A classic redirect? Oh-ho. I see! Heh. Don’t tell me… you can’t?!”
Mumbles and obscure sounds from unearthly entities rumbled across the levels as pressure cracked the stone underneath his feet for wine to bubble up. Eostre winced at the force he placed on her collarbone. Yet, Rachel felt none of it, confirming her suspicion.
“And now,” she laughed, “you’re threatening me, a mortal, by… what—killing someone I hardly know and who’s, again, weaker than you? Wow. Someone is insecure. I can’t imagine your sister being so intimidated by someone so much weaker than her.”
His fingers moved to Eostre’s throat. The woman’s eyes begged her to stop as a stillness came over the stadium; a mortal was challenging a god, and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop her. To put the nail in the coffin, Rachel took his own proud declaration and flipped it on its head.
“I didn’t realize the ‘Age of the Lesser Gods’ would be so sad. It’s really quite pathetic. Who would want to join such a volatile, insecure manchild of a god? Not me.”
Locking eyes with him, after a few, still seconds, a grin spread across his face, and he clapped both of Eostre’s shoulders with a roar of laughter, making the trembling tulpa jerk and close her eyes. Dionysus simply walked back to study Rachel like a fascinating specimen, ignoring the autumn-haired woman.
“You… are a worthy candidate for the crucible. Haha! You’ve passed my test.” He clapped, shaking his head as many others around the stadium mirrored him. “Excellent performance, my darling animal!” He dismissively waved his hand, loosening Eostre’s bonds and the box to restore itself. “We move to the next act!”
Eostre didn’t look like she could stand any time soon. In fact, Rachel was sure if she could, she would have pissed herself or died from a heart attack from the murderous vibes alone that the chaotic lesser god had radiated; the wilting flowers in her hair and through the nature-based dress were significant enough to illustrate her terror.
“Which is?” Rachel asked.
Floating in the middle of the coliseum, the man motioned to a host of holographic screens that appeared above him. “What else? The rules, silly hare; a child can understand them!”
Everything that Dionysus’ showy presentation illustrated, her own experience inside Anthony’s Quest, mixed with Zoe’s insight into the System, all clicked together as the man raised his hands to show a lanky, skeletal-faced personage, more of a monster than man.
“You believe me to be compensating, Ms. Hare? Haha! Allow me to introduce… the former Arbiter of this fragmented world.”
He gestured to a string of displays that showed what Rachel presumed were the ruins of a failing world. “In the Greater Seed that a Legendkin carries, there is a depth I cannot even fathom—layers I cannot reach or know what is beyond—but in this first stage before it is fed and further unlocked, there are pieces of places broken and twisted so far beyond the scope of what even I would consider normal that it stimulates the mind!
“These aren’t universals but dreams and figments of them, broken and seeking to be made whole… Who could have fashioned these Seeds, that even the weakest of which can bring mortals the state of godhood? Well, godhood given time as it builds up their souls.
“Where did these unrelated Crystals come from that force conflict between deities and mortals alike, allowing them to travel between realms beyond the dimensional barriers sealing off the higher powers that be? So many questions! So few answers… which is why all of you have come to me; my champion has opened himself up to me in order to bring you these truths!”
The alien entity’s black, oily skin steamed, reshaping it into a grotesque horror with leather-like tendrils flowing out of hollow cuts in its body. Full moons lit in its hollow sockets, and the world went from day to night.
Crimson steam blew out of its eaten-away nose, its ears thinning and growing as it opened its bony mouth to hiss a low, guttural hiss that permeated the still atmosphere. “Usurper… A warning. Nightmares unending are nigh should you fail to perform what The Balance requires.”
This time, Rachel felt the chill biting into her marrow as its oversized jaws lifted into a haunting smirk as it contorted in impossible angles. When Anthony performed his own Quest, there was something like this creature, an Arbiter, that stood in the background, observing and judging their actions.
Dionysus rolled his eyes at the creature’s warning.
“Yes, yes. You’ve told me. The Balance requires exactness; we all know about the Greater Seed’s Balance… You don’t shut up about it. And what could a… thing that even someone as weak as Eostre could combat possibly hope to accomplish against someone like me?”
“Such… hubris. I return to The Dream; I am free. Fufufu—”
The god held up two fingers and pressed them together. Ominously, a dark hole warped space, pulling the laughing abomination into the singularity, eradicating it. When Dionysus’ fingers separated, all traces of the entity were gone, and a new message popped up in front of Rachel.
[Legend Quest Arbiter Vanquished].
[New Arbiter Recognized].
[Legend Quest Authority Granted: Dionysus].
Rachel’s fingers pressed against the stone railing as she felt everything change. A swirl of misfortune cycled from that one action. A noose had tightened around the lesser god’s throat, and sooner or later, The System would exact its payment.
Dionysus clapped his hands, and the whole stadium and world shifted in an instant, becoming a luxurious amphitheater of wine, statues, and comfortable seating; the sandy floor was now smooth gold, and cosmic forces spun around across the heavens.
“Haha! This is the power of creation! How could someone so weak hope to control such potent energy?”
“It didn’t need to,” Rachel grunted, drawing the power-thirsty lesser god’s eye.
“Perhaps you’re right,” he whispered.
Grinning at the strength he could now channel through this world, the lesser god presented the rules, showing up as game text as he explained. “Welcome, to the Dionysus Games!
“Rule One: This crucible requires two contestants capable of performing a Legend’s Quest.
“Rule Two: There will be nine rounds. Four battles for each contestant, and a final showdown once proving themselves against all odds. The contestants roll a twenty-sided die to see who will be the lucky one to have the honor of the first round; the highest number wins. If one contestant dies during the course of the quest; both die.”
A shiver ran down Rachel’s spine to her tail as she glared at Conner, waving at her from across the arena. She hadn’t expected to have to put her trust in her opponent to survive until the end, and the variables kept stacking up.
“Rule Three: If the challenge is not won, all worlds seeking the Legend’s help will perish.”
Anthony would definitely feel a certain way if he knew what it meant to fail a Quest, and Dionysus was laying it all out to her; of course, he fully expected her to die here, as Relica did, but she was in the business of subverting other’s expectations of her limits.
“Rule Four: The crowd and an Arbiter-selected host will take part in the battle selection process; naturally, haha, I choose myself.
“Rule Five: At the beginning of every round, the host, competition, and the crowd roll a twenty-sided die to determine the selection roll order. A new member of the crowd will be chosen at random for each of the nine rounds. If any participant does not choose one of the four options within a timeframe set by the host, the System will choose at random.
“Rule Six: None of the four options, be it Item Selection/Upgrade, Location, Penalty/Downgrade, or Opponent, can be chosen twice in a round. Once an option is used, it is inaccessible until the next round.”
“Rule Seven…” The lesser god’s smile widened. “All options are to be displayed to the entity in question when making their selection, and a search function will be provided. I set the time limit for choosing to one minute. And that is the game! If the Legends cannot entertain the host or crowd, the world dies with them. Hahaha!”
He brandished his wine and drank a long swig. “Entertain me!”
Rachel forced a chuckle, running her fingers through her hair as Eostre rose to her feet to join her. The radiant woman fixed her wilted flowers and gown, regaining her composure, but Rachel could tell she was not happy with her being put in such a threatening position by Cerridwen or her badass and bold hare charge.
Although, if Rachel had backed down, there was a high possibility he might have killed her anyway to prove a point; he was insane. She had to make him lose favor with the crowd by performing such an action, and laughing it all off as a joke was a way for him to save face.
Her focus went to Nike and the other entities the mad god had trapped to use for his benefit. Karma’s a bitch. Can I get them free? Possibly… but it is going to cost me some leeway. Is a little bad luck in the competition worth punching him in the gut?
All she had to do was take one look at the smug face of the Greek god before making her decision. It’s totally worth it.
Eostre rubbed her neck and gave her a strained smile. “He’s giving himself plenty of time while limiting everyone else’s options since he knows them all already,” she whispered. “I do appreciate your concern. You didn’t have to do that… despite how it was shown.”
Rachel gave her a side-long look, pushing her lips to the side. “I don’t quite trust you yet; I can’t be sure that all of this isn’t just a trap, and you’re both playing me. Double agent, triple? I wouldn’t know since I’m not playing at this level… yet. Still, it does provide me insight. Wait…”
A dubious glare creased her nose as she stared at the innocent-looking tulpa. “Did you or Moongmor manipulate my Seed to give me that ridiculous Less-Is-More Feat about wearing less clothes?”
Eostre giggled softly while pointing down at the bouncing bunny in the stands. “Moongmor does have certain… fetishes, I suppose you could say. He’s harmless, but does enjoy certain tropes.”
The showboating lesser god talked to the crowd, giving further details as required of the host, and he seemed to be enjoying the attention. A few devils were asking Dionysus about the finger details regarding locations outside of this ‘fragment’ and if they were selectable. And it seemed to be an option, but lesser beings wouldn’t be able to see them.
All Rachel could think about was having a fight in the middle of Time Square against a giant, the people having no clue that they were fighting in the area like ghosts.
Her ears tilted toward Eostre as the woman touched her arm; she wore a thoughtful smile, seemingly figuring she was now, at the very least, a tad safer from Dionysus’ focus as the games went on.
“I was always content with my small role and place in the higher order in everything, yet then my whole world changed. One second, I was spending time in the glades, enjoying myself with some of my worshipers, and the next, my world was falling apart… Crushed into this… mangled mess where all time and perception merged…
“When I was swept into the Nightmare, I was sure my end would be in a twisted and broken state worse than death when my usefulness dried up… Yet you have given me new hope just now. I just wanted you to know that.”
“Huh.” Rachel tilted her head to the side. “I never thought that god-like beings would feel hopeless or powerless; there’s always someone stronger, I guess. It’s nice knowing you’re not some stuck-up holier-than-thou spirit without emotion. You’re afraid?”
She held her arm and looked back at the chair she’d been strapped to, swallowing her nerves. “It isn’t only me… Everyone is afraid of these Seeds and Crystals. It is only a matter of time before the chosen humans who received them rise to the challenge or subjugate us, yet … we can also unify with you mortals to participate in that growth…”
Her tone became melancholy as she looked away. “Not that Cerridwen or I have… She blessed you, but that has no bearing on her resonating with your Seed. It is you that must allow such a union and accept it willingly; the Seeds will accept nothing less, and that makes the lesser gods nervous.
“No one knows where these came from, how the greater deities were sealed away, or how we got here. We are looking for answers as much as the mortals. Whatever this was, it came outside of our individual multiverses… Much the same as the Crystals.”
Rachel rubbed her chest as she processed the woman’s confession; she was certainly thinking better of Eostre as time went on. In a way, she reminded her of Zoe, only a bunny instead of a domestic cat.
“So… we have two different Seeds, one drained, needing to be unlocked, and the other plump with energy. Doesn’t that sound like one is meant to feed on the other? Hunters and prey. We can’t know if any of this is connected…
“Hmm. Two Seeds… and Crystals that force conflict between mortals, and, apparently, deities, as well. Probably prompting this ‘unity’ or need for divine factions to form in order to protect themselves from the invasions.
“A maelstrom of universes smashed together and a cold war between lesser deities trying to get stronger by using the mortals’ connection to these powerful Seeds.
“Finally, a barrier that is keeping out the gods and whatever is above them… Heh. All of them could be totally unrelated or connected. We have ourselves a mystery,” Rachel grinned, ears tilting to the side with sudden excitement at solidifying some useful information. She could get all sorts of concessions from Tom with this news.
Her cheer dampened slightly when the world shifted, and she was standing on a platform in the middle of the stadium across from Conner; it was then that their ‘host’ bellowed for all to hear, “Let the crucible begin; prepare your dice!”
Rachel’s lips twitched as she reached out to take the twenty-sided die that floated in front of her; it brought back Zoe’s Dungeons and Dragons explanation.
This whole quest was about more than just winning; it was about entertaining the crowd and host to convince them to spare what was left of this devastated world. She suspected the original crowd of aliens, monsters, or whatever other attacking force had been intended for this battle had been killed by Dionysus, as the Arbiter had.
Dionysus has to follow the script, from what the Arbiter said, and if he doesn’t… Something will come to collect and set things right. You are an entertainer, but how good are you at following the rules?
Shaking the die in her hand, the lesser god presented giant reflections of their die for the crowd to see, and Rachel tossed it at the ground, far below, as Conner did it in the provided little box.
Conner’s roll: 16.
Silence overtook them as her slung die skipped and tumbled across the stone until it stopped.
Rachel’s roll: 15.
Conner had the first round.
The rolls for the selection came next; a fuzzy, small blue panda-like creature popped up across from Dionysus—the crowd selection. It blinked its big brown eyes before reaching out to take the die, stuck its tongue out, and chucked it into space.
Rachel lifted an eyebrow as it exited the atmosphere, yet the large die projection above them rolled nonetheless as everyone laughed with the eager blue panda. Allowing her misfortune senses to guide her throw, just as the crowd’s die hit, she rolled.
Conner: 19
Dionysus: 20
Crowd: 1
Rachel: 2
The lesser god grinned and pointed at the sky before looking toward Rachel. “I think we’re all a little curious, so I’ll start with a stone plateau… where we will all be under a black moon.”
Eostre’s concerned voice whispered into her mind. “The black moon is not a new moon, void moon, obsidian moon, or any other variant… It is a dark gateway to realms of living nightmares made real, composed of a dream entity that feeds on hope. There’s no way of telling how it might affect you!”
Rachel kept eye contact with the lesser god, retaining her grin. “I’m more than happy to test out a new moon every round… And giving hints about my abilities to my opponent off the cuff, host? Dirty. Heh. I love this already.”
“Gauntlets,” Conner spoke up, a string of images cycling in front of him, providing options that he could select. “Haha! If you’re a lover of the moon… Solar Gauntlets that can project miniature solar spheres.”
“Suit yourself,” Rachel nudged her head, smiling as it hit her turn. “Restriction: reveal what Conner is and his weaknesses.”
“Tch. That’s dirty,” he chuckled, a status window popping up for her and everyone else in the crowd to see. “My power comes from the earth and water… I’m the Legend of Antaeus.”
Rachel’s stomach shook with laughter. “You should have gotten something to keep yourself anchored to the ground! I don’t want you dying before I get a chance to paint the ground with your brains.”
“Touché, Ms. Bun.”
“Mmh-hmm-hmm.” Her ears twitched; he knew she was a hare after Dionysus said it so many times. “You’ll regret that one.”
Their attention went to the little blue panda as it spun the visual options with wonder as it stopped on a few options; its mouth opened in wonder at a small army of what appeared to be hobgoblins, piquing Rachel’s interest.
How well will he do against fifty dudes that I had trouble with… Although, to be fair, my hobgoblin had magical items while I had zero. Still, open field combat, good in hand-to-hand, proud in their physical strength… This could be fun.
Transported back to the VIP box, Rachel folded her arms atop the railing next to Eostre as Dionysus showed a diagram of what was to come, having many of the immortals and lesser deities take bets on the match. A nervous itch made her scratch the base of her ear as he prepared the field.
What will the black moon do to me?
Her ears went straight up as a thought made her snicker and nudge the autumn-haired woman next to her. “Eh-heh… if I go mad and start attacking you… It’s not my fault.”
The woman gave her a soft smile. “You needn’t be concerned about my safety in this regard.”
“Who said anything about yours?” Rachel said with a grin, making her giggle. “Please, for the love of all that is holy—heh, that's not offensive, right? Mmm—don't turn me into a bunny.”
“Hehe! No promises.”
B1 — 24. Divine Insanity
Rachel’s heartbeat quickened, and she licked her lips, anticipating the taste of their rage after she’d ruined their plans by surpassing their expectations. The glee of a challenging fight tingled from the tip of her ears to the end of her tail, causing the fluffy appendage to flick with excitement as she stepped through Conner’s golden gateway to another world.
She’d already tilted Relica, which was a delicious treat, and she knew that returning from this little competition would trigger the insecure woman something fierce. Relica had to believe she was in control; when she wasn’t, she became flustered and sloppy, which was why Relica would go to any length for power.
The Legendkin welcoming her into the arena was an entirely different breed, though; the man oozed confidence and showmanship. He had the physique of a Greek god and believed himself invincible. Rachel was more than willing to put that to the test and use that pride against the man.
Leaving the stunned woman behind, Rachel’s foot touched the loose sand of the arena floor after stepping through the gateway. A wave of cheers made her ears fold backward as she spun in a slow circle, taking in the sight.
Oddly, most of the audience was blurred out or comprised of entities completely foreign to Rachel’s mind. Many were humanoid, but with unusual characteristics that her brain couldn’t fully process; it triggered her instincts and felt like a massive weight on her chest. Whoever or whatever these creatures were, her instincts screamed that she couldn’t defeat a single one.
A transparent bubble surrounded the arena in a dome, separating it from the outside. Dark smoke rose into the sky from beyond sight and was sucked into crimson portals, and star-like stones glistened in the smog before being snuffed out.
Rachel had no clue what to expect from the gem-encrusted, golden coliseum she’d been brought to; grapes, cups, and massive barrels of flowing liquid ran from the top of the structure into canals, but one area drew her attention: the VIP box, from where a familiar autumn-haired goddess with flower-dotted, flowing locks stood witness to the coming fight.
“Eostre?” Rachel whispered.
She expected to see Moongmor beside the woman; instead, there was a glorious, bronze-skinned god, his dark hair reaching his shoulders. Clothed in a rather revealing robe of maroon linen, he sat on the edge of the box, leaning against a pillar with a cup in his hand and a grin on his handsome face.
The golden portal that brought her here closed as Conner stepped through, his tan chest gleaming in the bright overhead sun, which, interestingly, had no adverse effect on her Lunar Pool. The moment it sealed, the god took a sip of his drink and was suddenly standing before her.
Rachel took a step back as the tall man raised his hands in the air and spun in a festive circle; red liquid spilled out of his cup, the wine transforming into grape-bearing vines. Conner walked forward, a grin on his face as he pounded his chest before mirroring the bronze-skinned god.
With a voice like thunder, the deity introduced them to the bizarre field of colors, shapes, sparkles, and humanoid figures; a sea of monsters and oddities Rachel had never imagined could exist surrounded them.
“My fellow lesser gods, demigods, tulpa, immortals, personifications, incarnations, elementals, angels, archons, devils, demons, and everything in between… I, Dionysus, master of games, welcome you to my passion project! I welcome you to one of, if not the first Legend’s Quest!”
More vines grew up around him as his seemingly endless cup spilled more wine, the grapes they grew taking all shapes and colors. Rachel gave a curious chuckle at his boisterous antics, unsure who Dionysus was, but figuring he had to be some Greek or Roman figure by his appearance.
She kept Eostre in her sight; from the woman’s sitting position, she seemed strained and in pain, causing Rachel to draw her own conclusions while observing the ‘lesser god’ introduce himself and the game he was hosting.
She could now see why Cerridwen had urged her to be quick to recover the fairy in order to take part in this trial. Without Maria, she’d be dead, and recovering Fiona had brought her into direct contact with Eostre. Although, she couldn’t have been prepared for the bucket of cold water that was poured on her head by the showy man as he continued.
“Welcome, my unruly fellows, to the Age of the Lesser Deities! No more are we confined by the dictations of those pesky Creation Deities and higher beings to stifle our fun. Haha! Select your champions, grant them your blessings, and watch the chaos unfold!”
He gestured to Conner as the man did a few flips, showing off to the noisy crowd, who were clicking, roaring, or shrinking in an unrecognizable frenzy of sound and motion.
“Conner, one of my most promising champions, has brought us a victim for your entertainment… Sung-Hyo or Rachel Park, how will you introduce yourself?”
Rachel tilted her head to the side, scanning the throng and the implications this had. Placing a hand on her hip, she smirked at the man that could crush her to atoms with a mere thought and laughed. “I prefer to let my victory in the ring announce who I am.”
“Ho-ho!” Dionysus shouted. “Our little hare sees herself as an incarnation of Nike herself! Haha. I love it!”
A wicked twist came to the man’s lips as he directed her to a pillar near the top of the stadium, and Rachel’s eyes widened as space shrunk before her, pulling her vision closer so she could witness a tortured figure, her breathing shallow.
“Unfortunately, my fine hare, Nike isn’t doing so well since the dimensional barriers separated the higher deities from this meshed multiverse. Haha!”
Rachel’s cheer turned reflective upon witnessing the cruel sight; she didn’t know who Nike was, but clearly, there was some kind of history between Dionysus and her. Her white braided hair was used to gag the angelic goddess, a blindfold covering her eyes, a golden sword fixed her crossed hands to the pillar she was fastened to.
“And who is Nike?” Rachel casually questioned, eliciting incredulous looks from the onlookers and Dionysus alike as she reached to the side to tear off a grape branch and pop one in her mouth. “Blah. Sour. Uh, I don’t know if I’m feeling it. I mean, the staff suck through her belly—is that wasted wine just… constantly falling over her necessary. And the vines… really?”
Dionysus rubbed his strong jaw as he squinted up at the naked woman, quivering a little from time to time with the thistles slowly ripping into her skin. “Interesting. Interesting. A critique, are you… You think I’m trying too hard? Do you really not know my half-sister Athena’s little dove—The Wings of Victory—the Greek Personification of Victory?”
“Ahhh. That makes sense. No, I’m not a big follower of Greek stuff.” Rachel hummed, throwing the crowd off as she tossed her grapes to the side and held a finger to her lips. “Back to the ‘art,’ though. Personally, it’s, eh-mmh-yeah… I think the ripped-off golden wings pinned to her sides with daggers is a bit much. Don’t you think? And it feels like the wreath of laurel leaves—a crown—uh, are you pulling from somewhere else, maybe?” she belittled.
Dionysus appeared beside the young woman, his thoughtful fingers tracing the side of the sword’s blade to the golden liquid mixing with the wine in its trail down her exposed figure; Rachel felt a tad skittish by the stalker-rapey vibes she was getting from him—his ‘sister’s dove’—but she couldn’t show weakness.
“I can see why you might think that, but you cannot deny the glorious imagery. Ichor… the ethereal fluid of gods, immortals, and personifications alike; it’s quite useful. Being a Personification of Victory in the 5th Dimension, and without my annoying half-sister’s protection, it was only natural that I take the bird for myself. Who doesn’t want victory close by?”
Conner crossed his arms and glanced around at several more pillars rising from the stands, showing other unimaginably powerful entities that the lesser god had added to his festive collection, with demons and devils roaring with glee from the stands.
“You’ve been busy! I see my support has bagged you quite a few trophies. I look forward to adding a certain hare to my own,” he mused, giving her a dark, appraising stare that Rachel returned.
“Funny you say that,” she said, placing a hand on her hip and feeling the intense bloodlust of the creatures observing the pre-match show. “I would be quite the catch, but I don’t typically keep trash trophies, so I can’t say you’d look well on my wall.”
“Oooh!” Dionysus raised his hand into the sky, where a gaming display emerged from an explosion of colors. “The hare has teeth… Good. What will your coach tell you, I wonder?”
Rachel’s ears arched, a tempting smirk finding its mark. “Careful. Karma always gets her pound of flesh.”
“Hahaha! Circe and Eostre were right; you are quite terrifying… for a mortal. What will you be like when that Seed within you starts to really sprout? Now, let the Opening Segment begin!”
He clapped, and the world slipped away; in the next instance, she was standing in the VIP box with Eostre, Conner in his own across the stadium. Dionysus took center stage, darkness overshadowing the arena for a single ray of light to illuminate him, as he monologued.
Eostre wore a frown while calmly watching the lesser god explain to the crowd how it was possible to make changes to the Legend’s Quest and ‘Greater Seeds’ within their followers, given the proper caution and methods. Everyone who joined his side in this conflict amongst the lesser gods and other 5th-dimensional entities stood to gain phenomenal power through joining his faction, as many already had, such as Circe.
Rachel had no clue what the difference between a 5th-dimensional personification, like Nike, and a 5th-dimensional lesser god, like Dionysus, was, but she didn’t get the instinctual caution from him in the same manner as Relica. Sure, he was vastly more powerful than the witch, but he wasn’t going to kill her because he couldn’t for some reason.
Her eyes narrowed upon noticing Eostre’s hands, waist, and feet tied to her seat by a golden thread; obviously, the autumn-haired Easter goddess was not here by choice. Eostre’s life did hang in the balance, and due to his showy nature, Dionysus had given her the luck of conversing with her.
Taking up a leaning position against the wall to view the lesser god, Nike, and Eostre, she gauged the flow of misfortune and felt sharp tugs pulling the strings of destiny further away from her as fate wound around her throat. Somehow, Dionysus was forcing Nike to pull things in his favor.
“Quite the predicament you’ve found yourself in,” Rachel whispered, showing the sober goddess a tight smile. “Was getting kidnapped by a psychopathic god your plan, or is this something you’re dumping on me to solve?”
Eostre breathed in a long breath before easing it out. “If… this was a part of the plan, I most certainly wasn’t made aware of it. Your perception of me is quite over-inflated due to your ignorance regarding the higher planes; I am not a lesser goddess or anything close to such potent prowess… I am what is called a tulpa.”
Recalling the title from the list Dionysus called out earlier, Rachel crossed her arms and scanned the coliseum, a small tilt coming to her mouth as she spotted a certain multi-colored bunny among the throng.
“Okay. Well, it’s good that I can finally get some straight answers, regardless of the terrible circumstances; at least you haven’t been staked,” she mumbled, studying a strange, blue four-armed djinn-like entity piked to one of the pillars.
“Until the insane Greek gets bored,” Eostre said with a sad chuckle. “To put things in perspective, as a tulpa, at my strongest, I’m at the bottom of the 4th-dimensional weight bracket; Moongmor is a powerful 3rd-dimensional companion of mine. You, heh… are actually the cause of my capture. Imagine that. Damn you, Cerridwen; I knew this was a terrible idea, but far from me to say no to a 6th-dimensional contender.”
Rachel pulled around her braid to play with the end, mind racing through the complex weave of information she was gaining through this dangerous gambit. Clearly, this was a contest to the death between Conner and her, yet he had all the cards stacked against her.
She could see why Relica had been so perturbed about her confidence. Yet, her chances weren’t as slim as it appeared; she just had to play the right angles.
“Don’t be so glum, Eostre,” Rachel mused, her ears tilting to the left as the thrill of an uphill battle tugged at her gut.
“If I’m getting what Dionysus is laying out in his recruitment speech, there is a solid barrier between the 5th-dimensional lesser god weight class and the 7th-dimensional Creation Deities, but the wall blocking the 6th, or your average ol’ god tier-level, is just thin enough to allow some interference… which is where my cauldron-loving nightmare visitor comes into play. Correct?”
Eostre’s jaw tightened as her gaze drifted to Nike. “It’s more complicated than that… but in essence, yes. We can’t peer into the future like we used to. When the barriers between dimensions thickened, it became harder to interfere between each one, which seems to multiply greatly with every rising dimensional weight class, I suppose you could call it.
“A flood of unnatural energy appears to have meshed my universe into many others, which became… well, what you’ve known all your life. Everything before a century or so ago, totally normal in your mind, is actually quite messy and tangled. Time wasn’t so linear until that point for us higher dimensional beings.”
She swallowed, turning her sight to the stands. “And right now, all of the 4th-dimensional weight class beings, as you put it, such as myself, are in perpetual fear of becoming like Nike… The 5th-dimensional heavyweights are fighting over the rights of the Greater Seed holders, trying to entreat them, while we cower on the sideli—”
She cut off as the muscular god appeared beside her, plucking grapes off his vine to pop them into his mouth. “Spilling secrets to your skinned hare of an art critique, Eostre?”
Rachel hummed, her provocative tone drawing his attention away from the frightened tulpa. “You know what bewilders me about you?”
Dionysus waved his hands to the crowd, an image of her appearing for all to see across the stadium. “By all means, enlighten the audience to my mystery!”
A vicious gleam lifted her illuminated eyes, with misfortune circling them. “Why would such a powerful ‘lesser god’ be so terrified of a little tulpa or need the help of the personification of victory herself to feed his confidence? Are, heh… you trying to compensate for something by stripping naked, tying up, and impaling so many women? Hmm. Did Big Sis Athena do something to you? What does the crowd think?”
The man’s lips fell as laughter came from the throng, and even Conner couldn’t help a smile from across the stadium. “I’d watch your tongue if I were you,” he snarled.
Rachel pushed herself away from the wall to stand up and face the 5th-dimensional god. “Make me.” His fingers tightened against the railing, causing fissures to run down its length. “Hmm? I’m waiting.”
Eostre’s feverish eyes snapped to Dionysus as he slowly rose to his feet and walked around her to place a hand on the tulpa’s shoulder, making her flinch. “The hubris. I could squeeze the juice out of her like a grape… Is that what you want?”
Ignoring the taunt, Rachel tilted her head to the side and grinned at the crowd. “A classic redirect? Oh-ho. I see! Heh. Don’t tell me… you can’t?!”
Mumbles and obscure sounds from unearthly entities rumbled across the levels as pressure cracked the stone underneath his feet for wine to bubble up. Eostre winced at the force he placed on her collarbone. Yet, Rachel felt none of it, confirming her suspicion.
“And now,” she laughed, “you’re threatening me, a mortal, by… what—killing someone I hardly know and who’s, again, weaker than you? Wow. Someone is insecure. I can’t imagine your sister being so intimidated by someone so much weaker than her.”
His fingers moved to Eostre’s throat. The woman’s eyes begged her to stop as a stillness came over the stadium; a mortal was challenging a god, and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop her. To put the nail in the coffin, Rachel took his own proud declaration and flipped it on its head.
“I didn’t realize the ‘Age of the Lesser Gods’ would be so sad. It’s really quite pathetic. Who would want to join such a volatile, insecure manchild of a god? Not me.”
Locking eyes with him, after a few, still seconds, a grin spread across his face, and he clapped both of Eostre’s shoulders with a roar of laughter, making the trembling tulpa jerk and close her eyes. Dionysus simply walked back to study Rachel like a fascinating specimen, ignoring the autumn-haired woman.
“You… are a worthy candidate for the crucible. Haha! You’ve passed my test.” He clapped, shaking his head as many others around the stadium mirrored him. “Excellent performance, my darling animal!” He dismissively waved his hand, loosening Eostre’s bonds and the box to restore itself. “We move to the next act!”
Eostre didn’t look like she could stand any time soon. In fact, Rachel was sure if she could, she would have pissed herself or died from a heart attack from the murderous vibes alone that the chaotic lesser god had radiated; the wilting flowers in her hair and through the nature-based dress were significant enough to illustrate her terror.
“Which is?” Rachel asked.
Floating in the middle of the coliseum, the man motioned to a host of holographic screens that appeared above him. “What else? The rules, silly hare; a child can understand them!”
Everything that Dionysus’ showy presentation illustrated, her own experience inside Anthony’s Quest, mixed with Zoe’s insight into the System, all clicked together as the man raised his hands to show a lanky, skeletal-faced personage, more of a monster than man.
“You believe me to be compensating, Ms. Hare? Haha! Allow me to introduce… the former Arbiter of this fragmented world.”
He gestured to a string of displays that showed what Rachel presumed were the ruins of a failing world. “In the Greater Seed that a Legendkin carries, there is a depth I cannot even fathom—layers I cannot reach or know what is beyond—but in this first stage before it is fed and further unlocked, there are pieces of places broken and twisted so far beyond the scope of what even I would consider normal that it stimulates the mind!
“These aren’t universals but dreams and figments of them, broken and seeking to be made whole… Who could have fashioned these Seeds, that even the weakest of which can bring mortals the state of godhood? Well, godhood given time as it builds up their souls.
“Where did these unrelated Crystals come from that force conflict between deities and mortals alike, allowing them to travel between realms beyond the dimensional barriers sealing off the higher powers that be? So many questions! So few answers… which is why all of you have come to me; my champion has opened himself up to me in order to bring you these truths!”
The alien entity’s black, oily skin steamed, reshaping it into a grotesque horror with leather-like tendrils flowing out of hollow cuts in its body. Full moons lit in its hollow sockets, and the world went from day to night.
Crimson steam blew out of its eaten-away nose, its ears thinning and growing as it opened its bony mouth to hiss a low, guttural hiss that permeated the still atmosphere. “Usurper… A warning. Nightmares unending are nigh should you fail to perform what The Balance requires.”
This time, Rachel felt the chill biting into her marrow as its oversized jaws lifted into a haunting smirk as it contorted in impossible angles. When Anthony performed his own Quest, there was something like this creature, an Arbiter, that stood in the background, observing and judging their actions.
Dionysus rolled his eyes at the creature’s warning.
“Yes, yes. You’ve told me. The Balance requires exactness; we all know about the Greater Seed’s Balance… You don’t shut up about it. And what could a… thing that even someone as weak as Eostre could combat possibly hope to accomplish against someone like me?”
“Such… hubris. I return to The Dream; I am free. Fufufu—”
The god held up two fingers and pressed them together. Ominously, a dark hole warped space, pulling the laughing abomination into the singularity, eradicating it. When Dionysus’ fingers separated, all traces of the entity were gone, and a new message popped up in front of Rachel.
[Legend Quest Arbiter Vanquished].
[New Arbiter Recognized].
[Legend Quest Authority Granted: Dionysus].
Rachel’s fingers pressed against the stone railing as she felt everything change. A swirl of misfortune cycled from that one action. A noose had tightened around the lesser god’s throat, and sooner or later, The System would exact its payment.
Dionysus clapped his hands, and the whole stadium and world shifted in an instant, becoming a luxurious amphitheater of wine, statues, and comfortable seating; the sandy floor was now smooth gold, and cosmic forces spun around across the heavens.
“Haha! This is the power of creation! How could someone so weak hope to control such potent energy?”
“It didn’t need to,” Rachel grunted, drawing the power-thirsty lesser god’s eye.
“Perhaps you’re right,” he whispered.
Grinning at the strength he could now channel through this world, the lesser god presented the rules, showing up as game text as he explained. “Welcome, to the Dionysus Games!
“Rule One: This crucible requires two contestants capable of performing a Legend’s Quest.
“Rule Two: There will be nine rounds. Four battles for each contestant, and a final showdown once proving themselves against all odds. The contestants roll a twenty-sided die to see who will be the lucky one to have the honor of the first round; the highest number wins. If one contestant dies during the course of the quest; both die.”
A shiver ran down Rachel’s spine to her tail as she glared at Conner, waving at her from across the arena. She hadn’t expected to have to put her trust in her opponent to survive until the end, and the variables kept stacking up.
“Rule Three: If the challenge is not won, all worlds seeking the Legend’s help will perish.”
Anthony would definitely feel a certain way if he knew what it meant to fail a Quest, and Dionysus was laying it all out to her; of course, he fully expected her to die here, as Relica did, but she was in the business of subverting other’s expectations of her limits.
“Rule Four: The crowd and an Arbiter-selected host will take part in the battle selection process; naturally, haha, I choose myself.
“Rule Five: At the beginning of every round, the host, competition, and the crowd roll a twenty-sided die to determine the selection roll order. A new member of the crowd will be chosen at random for each of the nine rounds. If any participant does not choose one of the four options within a timeframe set by the host, the System will choose at random.
“Rule Six: None of the four options, be it Item Selection/Upgrade, Location, Penalty/Downgrade, or Opponent, can be chosen twice in a round. Once an option is used, it is inaccessible until the next round.”
“Rule Seven…” The lesser god’s smile widened. “All options are to be displayed to the entity in question when making their selection, and a search function will be provided. I set the time limit for choosing to one minute. And that is the game! If the Legends cannot entertain the host or crowd, the world dies with them. Hahaha!”
He brandished his wine and drank a long swig. “Entertain me!”
Rachel forced a chuckle, running her fingers through her hair as Eostre rose to her feet to join her. The radiant woman fixed her wilted flowers and gown, regaining her composure, but Rachel could tell she was not happy with her being put in such a threatening position by Cerridwen or her badass and bold hare charge.
Although, if Rachel had backed down, there was a high possibility he might have killed her anyway to prove a point; he was insane. She had to make him lose favor with the crowd by performing such an action, and laughing it all off as a joke was a way for him to save face.
Her focus went to Nike and the other entities the mad god had trapped to use for his benefit. Karma’s a bitch. Can I get them free? Possibly… but it is going to cost me some leeway. Is a little bad luck in the competition worth punching him in the gut?
All she had to do was take one look at the smug face of the Greek god before making her decision. It’s totally worth it.
Eostre rubbed her neck and gave her a strained smile. “He’s giving himself plenty of time while limiting everyone else’s options since he knows them all already,” she whispered. “I do appreciate your concern. You didn’t have to do that… despite how it was shown.”
Rachel gave her a side-long look, pushing her lips to the side. “I don’t quite trust you yet; I can’t be sure that all of this isn’t just a trap, and you’re both playing me. Double agent, triple? I wouldn’t know since I’m not playing at this level… yet. Still, it does provide me insight. Wait…”
A dubious glare creased her nose as she stared at the innocent-looking tulpa. “Did you or Moongmor manipulate my Seed to give me that ridiculous Less-Is-More Feat about wearing less clothes?”
Eostre giggled softly while pointing down at the bouncing bunny in the stands. “Moongmor does have certain… fetishes, I suppose you could say. He’s harmless, but does enjoy certain tropes.”
The showboating lesser god talked to the crowd, giving further details as required of the host, and he seemed to be enjoying the attention. A few devils were asking Dionysus about the finger details regarding locations outside of this ‘fragment’ and if they were selectable. And it seemed to be an option, but lesser beings wouldn’t be able to see them.
All Rachel could think about was having a fight in the middle of Time Square against a giant, the people having no clue that they were fighting in the area like ghosts.
Her ears tilted toward Eostre as the woman touched her arm; she wore a thoughtful smile, seemingly figuring she was now, at the very least, a tad safer from Dionysus’ focus as the games went on.
“I was always content with my small role and place in the higher order in everything, yet then my whole world changed. One second, I was spending time in the glades, enjoying myself with some of my worshipers, and the next, my world was falling apart… Crushed into this… mangled mess where all time and perception merged…
“When I was swept into the Nightmare, I was sure my end would be in a twisted and broken state worse than death when my usefulness dried up… Yet you have given me new hope just now. I just wanted you to know that.”
“Huh.” Rachel tilted her head to the side. “I never thought that god-like beings would feel hopeless or powerless; there’s always someone stronger, I guess. It’s nice knowing you’re not some stuck-up holier-than-thou spirit without emotion. You’re afraid?”
She held her arm and looked back at the chair she’d been strapped to, swallowing her nerves. “It isn’t only me… Everyone is afraid of these Seeds and Crystals. It is only a matter of time before the chosen humans who received them rise to the challenge or subjugate us, yet … we can also unify with you mortals to participate in that growth…”
Her tone became melancholy as she looked away. “Not that Cerridwen or I have… She blessed you, but that has no bearing on her resonating with your Seed. It is you that must allow such a union and accept it willingly; the Seeds will accept nothing less, and that makes the lesser gods nervous.
“No one knows where these came from, how the greater deities were sealed away, or how we got here. We are looking for answers as much as the mortals. Whatever this was, it came outside of our individual multiverses… Much the same as the Crystals.”
Rachel rubbed her chest as she processed the woman’s confession; she was certainly thinking better of Eostre as time went on. In a way, she reminded her of Zoe, only a bunny instead of a domestic cat.
“So… we have two different Seeds, one drained, needing to be unlocked, and the other plump with energy. Doesn’t that sound like one is meant to feed on the other? Hunters and prey. We can’t know if any of this is connected…
“Hmm. Two Seeds… and Crystals that force conflict between mortals, and, apparently, deities, as well. Probably prompting this ‘unity’ or need for divine factions to form in order to protect themselves from the invasions.
“A maelstrom of universes smashed together and a cold war between lesser deities trying to get stronger by using the mortals’ connection to these powerful Seeds.
“Finally, a barrier that is keeping out the gods and whatever is above them… Heh. All of them could be totally unrelated or connected. We have ourselves a mystery,” Rachel grinned, ears tilting to the side with sudden excitement at solidifying some useful information. She could get all sorts of concessions from Tom with this news.
Her cheer dampened slightly when the world shifted, and she was standing on a platform in the middle of the stadium across from Conner; it was then that their ‘host’ bellowed for all to hear, “Let the crucible begin; prepare your dice!”
Rachel’s lips twitched as she reached out to take the twenty-sided die that floated in front of her; it brought back Zoe’s Dungeons and Dragons explanation.
This whole quest was about more than just winning; it was about entertaining the crowd and host to convince them to spare what was left of this devastated world. She suspected the original crowd of aliens, monsters, or whatever other attacking force had been intended for this battle had been killed by Dionysus, as the Arbiter had.
Dionysus has to follow the script, from what the Arbiter said, and if he doesn’t… Something will come to collect and set things right. You are an entertainer, but how good are you at following the rules?
Shaking the die in her hand, the lesser god presented giant reflections of their die for the crowd to see, and Rachel tossed it at the ground, far below, as Conner did it in the provided little box.
Conner’s roll: 16.
Silence overtook them as her slung die skipped and tumbled across the stone until it stopped.
Rachel’s roll: 15.
Conner had the first round.
The rolls for the selection came next; a fuzzy, small blue panda-like creature popped up across from Dionysus—the crowd selection. It blinked its big brown eyes before reaching out to take the die, stuck its tongue out, and chucked it into space.
Rachel lifted an eyebrow as it exited the atmosphere, yet the large die projection above them rolled nonetheless as everyone laughed with the eager blue panda. Allowing her misfortune senses to guide her throw, just as the crowd’s die hit, she rolled.
Conner: 19
Dionysus: 20
Crowd: 1
Rachel: 2
The lesser god grinned and pointed at the sky before looking toward Rachel. “I think we’re all a little curious, so I’ll start with a stone plateau… where we will all be under a black moon.”
Eostre’s concerned voice whispered into her mind. “The black moon is not a new moon, void moon, obsidian moon, or any other variant… It is a dark gateway to realms of living nightmares made real, composed of a dream entity that feeds on hope. There’s no way of telling how it might affect you!”
Rachel kept eye contact with the lesser god, retaining her grin. “I’m more than happy to test out a new moon every round… And giving hints about my abilities to my opponent off the cuff, host? Dirty. Heh. I love this already.”
“Gauntlets,” Conner spoke up, a string of images cycling in front of him, providing options that he could select. “Haha! If you’re a lover of the moon… Solar Gauntlets that can project miniature solar spheres.”
“Suit yourself,” Rachel nudged her head, smiling as it hit her turn. “Restriction: reveal what Conner is and his weaknesses.”
“Tch. That’s dirty,” he chuckled, a status window popping up for her and everyone else in the crowd to see. “My power comes from the earth and water… I’m the Legend of Antaeus.”
Rachel’s stomach shook with laughter. “You should have gotten something to keep yourself anchored to the ground! I don’t want you dying before I get a chance to paint the ground with your brains.”
“Touché, Ms. Bun.”
“Mmh-hmm-hmm.” Her ears twitched; he knew she was a hare after Dionysus said it so many times. “You’ll regret that one.”
Their attention went to the little blue panda as it spun the visual options with wonder as it stopped on a few options; its mouth opened in wonder at a small army of what appeared to be hobgoblins, piquing Rachel’s interest.
How well will he do against fifty dudes that I had trouble with… Although, to be fair, my hobgoblin had magical items while I had zero. Still, open field combat, good in hand-to-hand, proud in their physical strength… This could be fun.
Transported back to the VIP box, Rachel folded her arms atop the railing next to Eostre as Dionysus showed a diagram of what was to come, having many of the immortals and lesser deities take bets on the match. A nervous itch made her scratch the base of her ear as he prepared the field.
What will the black moon do to me?
Her ears went straight up as a thought made her snicker and nudge the autumn-haired woman next to her. “Eh-heh… if I go mad and start attacking you… It’s not my fault.”
The woman gave her a soft smile. “You needn’t be concerned about my safety in this regard.”
“Who said anything about yours?” Rachel said with a grin, making her giggle. “Please, for the love of all that is holy—heh, that's not offensive, right? Mmm—don't turn me into a bunny.”
“Hehe! No promises.”
